In a 17th-century private house at the foot of the Arles arena, the Fondation Thalie presents this new exhibition from the Thalie Collection. “Géologie des âmes” combines a collection of photographs exploring human and non-human identities, reflecting the impact of humanity on nature, postcolonial narratives, and gender issues—in dialogue with permanent works from the collection and site-specific artist commissions.
“Géologie des âmes” evokes the idea that human subjectivities—individual and collective—are as complex, deep, and layered as the Earth’s geology. Each layer, each fault, each emotional or political sedimentation leaves a trace: a memory of trauma, a colonial legacy, a loss of a connection to life, or, conversely, an attempt at repair, listening, or transmission.
The works brought together in the exhibition address narratives rooted in land, bodies, forests, archives, and postcolonial wounds—but also gestures of care, surviving presences, and reactivated myths. Organized into several chapters, the exhibition brings together contemporary artists from diverse geographical, cultural, and historical contexts.
From the damaged life of the Anthropocene to the forest rituals of Eastern Europe, from self-portraits of the intimate to the decolonial territories of the Global South, each work is a story to be inhabited. Between contemplation and engagement, the artists plumb the depths of the present to extract forms of reparation and plural narratives. Inspired by the thought of Achille Mbembe, they question what it means to live in a damaged world, and how to inhabit it differently, in relation to the soil, other species, forgotten or marginalized communities.
The artists presented in the exhibition are Alma Allen, Sama Alshaibi, Rina Banerjee, Jörg Bräuer, Albarrán Cabrera, Mathilde Cazes, Monica de Miranda, Claudine Doury, Nicolas Floc’h, Agnès Geoffray, Noémie Goudal, Jean-François Jaussaud, Wallen Mapondera, Zanele Muholi, Giovanni Ozzola, Adrian Paci, Raphaëlle Peria, Solange Pessoa, Lucia Pizzani, Karine Rougier, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Risaku Suzuki, Justine Tjallinks, Anaïs Tondeur, Gérard Traquandi, Francesca Woodman and Héctor Zamora.
Géologie des âmes
Collection Nathalie Guiot – Fondation Thalie
July 8-25, 2025
Fondation Thalie
34, Rue de l’Amphithéâtre
13200 Arles
https://fondationthalie.org/
